{"id":33911,"date":"2026-07-15T15:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33911"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:58:19","slug":"the-odyssey-is-truly-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33911","title":{"rendered":"THE ODYSSEY is Truly Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 173 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Universal Pictures opens at theaters\nand on IMAX screens on July 17th<\/sup>, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suppose there\u2019s a reason why a great story manages to survive through generations and continues to absorb audiences. Homer\u2019s Odyssey<\/em> is an ancient Greek epic poem that, some 2800-hundred years after it was first published (and who knows how long before that it was passed down through storytelling), is still beloved and studied by experts. The world may have completely changed since then, but even the mythic story elements and characters in this tale still have relevance in today\u2019s world. Writer\/director Christopher Nolan (The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, Oppenheimer<\/em>) clearly recognizes this fact, and has delivered a mesmerizing adaptation that is certain to make a lasting impression on viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The narrative frequently jumps around in time and space, slowly filling in viewers about its central characters. We see the aging King of Ithaca, Odysseus (Matt Damon), alone on a beach, suffering from amnesia, while experiencing brief flashes of his past. In Ithica, Queen Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and her son Telemachus (Tom Holland) have been awaiting the king\u2019s return for close to 20 years. Odysseus and his soldiers were enlisted to follow the all-powerful King of Mycenae, Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) on a lengthy, tumultuous raid of Troy. While word has come that the decade-long raid was ultimately successful, few have returned over the following years. Most are confident that Odysseus is dead, and suitors wait in the wings to force Penelope to remarry so that they can take control as new King of Ithaca. This includes the particularly vicious and power-hungry Antinous (Robert Pattinson).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Early on, there are striking images of the Trojan Horse,\nwith enough bits and pieces presented to give generalities about the situation,\nas well as emphasize that Odysseus is far from home and suffering from memory\nloss about the war. But the first act does primarily revolve around\nestablishing the family drama and political situation in Ithaca, honing in on\nthe nastiness of Antinous trying to wrestle control of the region, while aging\nfigures from Odysseus\u2019 past like Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) attempt to defend the\nmissing leader. For those unfamiliar with the source material, it will take a\nbit of time to get used to the frequent cutting around various periods in time.\nYet it all comes together exceptionally well, managing to build great suspense\nas the full story is slowly unveiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The performances are exceptional, with several standouts.\nThis is one of Matt Damon\u2019s best roles in some time, and the actor explores a\ngrand arc, beginning as a strong and powerful leader, but later transforming\ninto a traumatized figure struggling to deal with much of what he has\nexperienced and also taken part in. Hathaway has some excellent moments as the\nput-upon Penelope, subtly keeping suitors away while fearing the worst about\nher husband. John Leguizama is incredible as Eumaeus, a blind man and loyal\nservant to Odysseus, and Himesh Patel makes an impression as second-in-command\nEurylochus, who does his best to keep Odysseus\u2019 increasingly frustrated men at\nbay during their difficult travels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On a technical level, this is also a winner. You\u2019ll witness\ncreatively rendered interactions with a giant ogre, as well as an army of\nenormous soldiers, as well as many other incredibly rendered threats. The\ncinematography and visual effects are all top-notch and when the action ramps\nup, all of these scenes are incredibly tense. While the fantastical bits are\ndazzling, there are also a couple of major conflicts between human forces over\nthe course of the story, with the final showdown delivering perhaps the film\u2019s\nmost memorable and engrossing clash.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And as mentioned, the picture also effectively deals with important themes. There is talk about internal conflicts between states and devastating wars, with Odysseus feeling the weight of the brutality and violence he has witnessed and experienced (not the mention those he has sacrificed). While story elements are fantastical, there certainly is a suggestion that the kind of unchecked, cutthroat, power-mad behavior on display by some of these characters ultimately leads to devastation and the fall of civilizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie is long, and does have a couple of on-the-nose lines about themes here and there. But when everything around it is so compelling and expertly staged, it\u2019s impossible not to be impressed. I don\u2019t want to oversell a movie and set up unrealistic expectations for any viewer. But to me, this picture is incredible and feels like a modern cinematic equivalent of epic titles like Lawrence of Arabia<\/em> or The Bridge on the River Kwai<\/em>. The Odyssey<\/em> is a stunning tale that wonderfully adapts its legendary source material, and should be seen on the biggest screen possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 173 minutes This feature from Universal Pictures opens at theaters and on IMAX screens on July 17th, 2026. I suppose there\u2019s a reason why a great story manages to survive through generations and continues to absorb audiences. Homer\u2019s Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem that, some 2800-hundred years after it was first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[217,741,4382,7010,7314,8611,9279,10879,13424,17182,21746,21747,21748,21749,23019,23571,23959],"class_list":["post-33911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-217","tag-adaptation","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-epic","tag-fantasy","tag-greek","tag-homer","tag-john-leguizamo","tag-matt-damon","tag-robert-pattinson","tag-the-odyssey","tag-the-odyssey-film-review","tag-the-odyssey-movie-review","tag-the-odyssey-review","tag-tom-holland","tag-universal-pictures","tag-war"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}